| "Stay Beautiful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Manic Street Preachers | ||||
| from the album Generation Terrorists | ||||
| Released | 29 July 1991 | |||
| Recorded | Mid 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, Richey Edwards | |||
| Manic Street Preachers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Stay Beautiful" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 29 July 1991 by record label Columbia as the first single from the band's debut album, Generation Terrorists . [2]
The track started out under the working title of "Generation Terrorists" and originally featured the lyrics "Why don't you just fuck off" in the chorus, which was later cut to "Why don't you just... [gap]" in the released version with a guitar fill in the aforementioned gap. It has since become customary for fans to shout the original lyric when the band occasionally perform the song live. [3]
Marc Burrows of Drowned in Sound proclaimed "Stay Beautiful" a "straightforward punker", [1] and "the most pure punk record in their arsenal" alongside "Repeat", and that it had "more in common with their earlier indie-label records [...] than it does with its parent album". [1]
The music video for the song features the band performing inside a garishly coloured house being splashed with paint, before the setting is demolished by a clay-mation space octopus at the conclusion; referencing themes and events in Alan Moore's Watchmen .
"Stay Beautiful" was released as a single on 29 July 1991 by record label Columbia. [4] The single was the group's first top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 40 on 10 August 1991. [5] [6] It was re-issued six years later but failed to return to the top 40 , reaching number 52 on 13 September 1997. [7]
The B-sides for all formats included "R.P. McMurphy", with the CD and 12-inch versions adding "Soul Contamination". The title of "R.P. McMurphy" is based on the protagonist of Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which was subsequently made into a film). [8]
The title of "Stay Beautiful" was used by Renault in a television advertisement for a car in reference to the song.[ citation needed ]
Longtime music press champion of the band Simon Price co-created alternative "glam/rock/trash" nightclub Stay Beautiful. Named after the song, it drew heavily on the ethos and attitudes of the band, and during a solo tour to promote his debut album I Killed The Zeitgeist , bassist Nicky Wire performed there. [9]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stay Beautiful" | 3:11 |
| 2. | "R.P. McMurphy" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Soul Contamination" | 2:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stay Beautiful" | 3:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | "R.P. McMurphy" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Soul Contamination" | 2:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stay Beautiful" | 3:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | "R.P. McMurphy" | 4:05 |
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 40 |
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire and cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore. They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.
Generation Terrorists is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
Gold Against the Soul is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album Generation Terrorists, the record reached No.8 on the UK Albums Chart.
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"You Stole the Sun from My Heart" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 8 March 1999 as the third single from their fifth studio album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998). All three members of the band—James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire—share the writing credits. The song reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Masses Against the Classes" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers, released as a limited-edition single in January 2000. It was a stand-alone single, not featured on any studio album, and was deleted on the day of release. Despite being deleted on the day of release, the single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart.
"Slash 'n' Burn" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 16 March 1992 by record label Columbia as the fourth single from the band's debut album, Generation Terrorists (1992).
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"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in July 1993 by record label Columbia as the second single from their second studio album, Gold Against the Soul (1993). It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
"You Love Us" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was initially released as a single on 7 May 1991 by Heavenly. The song was re-recorded and released on 20 January 1992 by Columbia Records as the third single from the band's debut studio album, Generation Terrorists.
"Love's Sweet Exile" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 28 October 1991 by record label Columbia as the second single from their debut album, Generation Terrorists (1992). The B-side, "Repeat (UK)", appears on the same album.
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"Little Baby Nothing" is a song recorded by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for their debut studio album, Generation Terrorists (1992). It was released on 9 November 1992 by Columbia Records as the sixth and final single from the album. The song features guest vocals by American actress and singer Traci Lords.
"Faster" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in 1994 by record label Epic as the first single from the band's third studio album, The Holy Bible.
"Motown Junk" is the second single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 January 1991 by Heavenly.
"Suicide Alley" is the debut single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was self-financed and released in 1988, while they were still an unsigned act.
Leaving the 20th Century is a concert film of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers's performance at Manic Millennium, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales on New Year's Eve 1999. The concert celebrated the 10th anniversary of the band and was performed in front of more than 57,000 fans. The event became international when the final song, "A Design for Life", was broadcast live all over the world via satellite.
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After signing to the Sony label, "Stay Beautiful" became the Manics' first Top 40 single in July 1991
